I Know What You Are
by outlook
Summary: Victoria just found out an amazing secret: werewolves exist and she knows who the werewolves are. Unfortunatley, she can't utter a word, not because people won't believe her, but because her life is on the line.
1. Eternal Silence

The La Push Protectors.

At least, that was the excuse, no, I take that back, the story that these people gave the entire student body of La Push High. They cleared up all the rumors that were flying around in the school about their absence by calling themselves the Protectors. They were not doing drugs or were a part of a rebellious gang Sam Uley created, but they were a part of his group of chosen ones on protecting La Push.

Of course, since I was a freshman at the time, I believed everything that my fellow senior classmates told. I admired them-so of course I believed them. But even back then, their stories never made that much sense and I had always found it peculiar on how our tribe council supported them or was even a part of it. Because, and let's be honest, who in their right mind would let a bunch of young teenage boys stay out in all hours of the night and excuse them from school? One 'explanation' that I came up with was that the boys just never looked to be their age; they all looked to be in their twenties instead of high school students. So I thought _Okay, they look old enough, maybe they let them stay out because they can protect themselves_.

So, I stayed out of La Push politics and tried to push my uneasy thoughts away.

I tried to occupy my mind by 'admiring' the seniors from the Protectors every year. They were the perfect candidates for being my eye candy. For example, freshman year I fawned over Paul and Jared even though Jared was already going out with Kim. Sophomore year I drooled over Jacob, Embry, and Quil during their senior year since they never had a steady girlfriend; they preferred the flings, especially Embry. Now, on my junior year, I used to admire Seth, Brady, and Collin for everything they've been doing to protect our tiny joke of a town. I thought that everyone in Sam's group were really cool even though I never spoke to them a day in my life since they were all older than me.

I had always wanted to know more about Sam's group and what he does to help around. So I asked the person who would know-my great uncle Tunde. He is one of the members of the Tribe council, so I thought it was best to ask him. When I did ask, his deep chocolate brown eyes darkened to a coal black as he answered in a monotonous tone that it was nothing I should concern myself over with and should just forget about it. After that, his demeanor changed to his regular quirky self.

"Want some ice cream Tori? I have your favorite in the freezer."

I gave him my best smile and nodded. "Yeah, sure. Thanks a ton Uncle Tunde."

After that incident, the peculiar feelings I had about the group two years ago came back with full force. I always asked myself the same question every day and every night:_ What are they hiding?_ I knew very well that I could not just snoop around as much as I wanted or ask anyone else to join my little 'quest' on figuring out the truth, for everyone in town would find out in less than an hour. I tried to come up with a plan on how to investigate, yet everything I thought of had bad consequences. So I let it off, waiting with anticipation for an opportunity to shine through.

My window of opportunity came a few months ago.

It was in the middle of March and I had just arrived home from school. Since it was a Friday, I threw all my school books and book bag on my bed and headed to the kitchen to make myself a sandwich. As I was about to eat it, my father came downstairs and found me. He looked stressed. His shoulders were tense and he kept fiddling with his fingers, a habit he always had whenever something was bothering him.

"Papa, what's wrong?" I asked as I put my very appetizing and delicious sandwich down.

He gave out a deep sigh and ran his hand through his hair trying to tame it, even though his hair was just fine before he put his fingers in. "I just got a phone call from the hospital about your uncle Tunde."

Panic and a feeling of dread came over me, not wanting repeat of the same situation that had happened two years ago. "Is he ok? What happened?"

He waved his hand in the air trying to calm me down. "Don't worry, he's fine, it's just that he called the hospital claiming that he was feeling unwell and as he got there, they did some tests on him and found out that he has cancer. Breast cancer."

My eyes widened at the sudden news. "Breast cancer? How?"

Papa shrugged his shoulder. "The way of life, Tori. It's just the way of life. The good thing about this though is that they caught it just in time. They are going to begin treatment soon."

Relief washed over me, glad that something could be done about this. "So, he'll live, right?"

"The chances are that he will, however, it's cancer. Never underestimate cancer."

We stayed quiet for a while. I was eating my sandwich while my dad just sat with his thoughts. He broke the silence after asking me to make him a sandwich as well. "I was thinking," he began, once I gave him his sandwich, "if you could visit your uncle more often. Make sure everything is okay, he has everything he needs and all that. I would do it, but-"

I blocked out everything he was saying after I heard _visit your uncle more often_. I silently thanked God and my father for giving me a plan on a platter. I smiled at my dad and waved off his explanations. "Papa, don't worry. I will definitely visit him! In fact, I could visit him everyday after school if you don't mind. We can catch up, digress in memories that he has about you, and his fantastic stories."

My dad smiled at the thought. "You're wonderful Victoria. God definitely has blessed you with a beautiful heart."

At that moment, he made me feel a little guilty. I was using my uncle's sickness as a way to get closer to the truth about Sam and the guys, not out of kindness, even though, I really did want to be around my uncle Tunde. _God, please forgive me if I am acting out of selfishness, because, honestly, I am not sure if I am or not._ I nodded at my father's comment and blushed a bit. "Papa, stop." He chuckled at my sudden shyness and ate his sandwich.

On Monday after school, I kept my promise and visited my uncle Tunde.

"Tori! What a pleasure! Come in!"

I smiled at my uncle and sat across from his favorite rocking chair. "Thanks for letting me come uncle Tunde! I just hope you don't get sick of seeing my face everyday now." He chuckled at my response. "Nonsense! You're always welcome!"

I spent my entire afternoons there everyday for the next three months, from 2:45 pm to 7 pm. As I did my homework, he always talked to me about my father and how much of a worry wart he had always been. Never has been that confident in himself until he began to hang around with my mother Lizette. My uncle Tunde said that they met when she transferred to the La Push High. She was half Mexican and half Quileute, and my father seemed to have been attracted to 'latina' side. She was always out, hanging around and one of the most sociable people he had ever known.

From then on, they were friends until their senior year when my dad finally had the courage to ask her out. My mother smiled and exclaimed that her prayers had finally been answered, because she was losing her patience and was getting tired of waiting.

Then, when they turned twenty, they got married.

Then when they were twenty four, they had me.

I paid attention with everything he told me, but I was always waiting for him to slip on something, waiting for him to reveal something about Sam and the others.

That moment came when my father visited Uncle Tunde the week before school was out for summer vacation. He came over for dinner. Uncle Tunde and Papa were talking in the living room while I was in the kitchen preparing dinner. I was about to call them over to eat, when I overheard my dad say, "I am actually proud of those boys. Sam has a good grip on all of them as Alpha, but you can tell that Jacob will surpass him."

I looked through the key hole of the adjoining door to the living room and kitchen. My Uncle Tunde nodded in agreement with my father. "Yes. Billy's son is remarkable as expected with the genes. Paul and Jared are not that far behind. They matured greatly once they phased. I was surprised that they were able to phase back from wolf form and human form pretty quickly."

My father nodded. "Yes, but not as quickly as Harry's son Seth. Did you know that he phased back to his human form on the same day he phased as a wolf?"

Uncle Tunde's face broke out into a grin. "Yes! Extraordinary work!"

I looked away from the key hole and rummaged around the kitchen to make it seem that I was still working. As I was satisfied with most of the noise, I returned back into my place.

"Uncle, all in all, they are good boys. All nine of them, including Leah, of course. They make a great wolf pack. Definitely not a force to be reckoned with."

My uncle seemed to show some pride when he smiled. "Of course! But remember, back in your day, you were pretty good as well."

My eyes widened like saucers once I heard this. _My father was one of them?_

My dad smiled. "Yeah, I guess. I stopped phasing once I had Victoria though. It would cause Liz to stress out, and I wanted to be there for both of my girls."

As soon as he said that I breathed in and out and opened the door, abruptly interrupting their conversation. "Sorry, gentlemen, but dinner is ready! I made Uncle Tunde's favorite tonight!"

The men smiled and quickly went into the kitchen. Uncle Tunde smiled at me and said, "Thank you Tori! You have no idea how much I have been craving lasagna!"

As we ate, I smiled at their jokes and laughed when it was called for, but my brain was working in overdrive thinking on what they were talking about because werewolves did not exist.

That Friday night, I did not sleep. As soon as I was sure that my father was out like a light, I slowly crept down the stairs towards my father's 'office'. I went in his study and began pulling out books that were related to a specific Quileute legend. The legend of how men morphed into abnormal sized wolves to defeat the 'Cold Ones'. While researching, I wished that Billy Black was here. I wanted him to re-tell his stories instead of making me research. However, I found what I was looking for, but not in a historical book.

I found it when I stumbled upon a copy of the tribe council's many books that they kept among themselves. I read them, studied them, memorized them, and believed them.

Everything fit, everything was connected. Everything finally made sense now.

Now I understood why the boys grew abnormally, why they are out on all hours of the night and was excused. Now I understood why Kim and Rachel and Emily Young were always around the boys. I finally understood everything.

However, as accomplished as I felt in figuring out this mystery that took me my entire junior year to figure out, I wished I didn't know about it, because if someone found out about it outside of the tribe or the group, there was a grave consequence that followed.

Death.

At least, I think it is death, otherwise, what other way can you interpret 'eternal silence'?


	2. Religion vs Politics

The church was empty. Not a single living person was in there except for the priest in the back of the altar. It's at times like this when I am glad not everyone attends or visits the church. I sat on the last pew, kneeled, and made the sign of the cross. My mother's rosary was clutched in my hands as I prayed.

I pray a rosary for my mother every Friday. Ever since I was a little girl, she would always take me with her to the church to pray on Fridays. Back then, I just wanted her to hurry up with her prayers because I found the place boring and creepy. I also didn't want to go because we always went to mass on Sundays anyways, so why go? When I was in my teens, however, my opinion of the church changed after my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer.

I would willingly go every Friday with her to pray because I realized that it would be the only moments I had with her. She couldn't do everything that she used to do without fearing that she might die. Coming to church relieved her pain and anxiety. That was her safe haven because even home wasn't safe; it was a constant reminder of what she would leave behind.

When we went to pray as her cancer worsened, I never asked God to just cure her or heal her or make the tumor go away. Otherwise, he would have done it when she was not on the brink of death. Instead, I asked Him, begged him, to take her away silently. _Please, do not make her suffer anymore. _I, at the age of fourteen going on fifteen, was ready to let go.

My father wasn't.

Whenever dad was in my mother's hospital room, he would try and make her stay awake as long as possible. He thought that if she ever went to sleep, she wouldn't wake up. My mother smiled when he voiced his thoughts. "Baby, you gotta let me go sometime," was what she answered, "I am just waiting for you. I'm only holding on until you're strong enough." The three of us were quiet for what seemed to be an eternity until my father finally managed a smile and said, "It's alright baby, you can sleep." My mother laughed softly, "Thanks, cuz I'm really tired." My father and I gave her a kiss goodnight before we left to go home.

The next day, we got a phone call early in the morning from the hospital informing us that my mother passed away. Even though I was ready to let go, it still hurt to have her gone. My father cried too, but alone and silently. I do not remember how long we mourned, but we pulled ourselves together because deep inside, we knew that mom would not like us moping around. We got back to our regular routine and our bond strengthened. I never hid anything from him; he never hid anything from me. There were no secrets between us. _Well, except for the whole werewolf thing._

After I finished praying the rosary, I sat on the pew and sighed. _Mom, what am I going to do? I found out that dad is a werewolf, or was, and so are a few kids from the neighborhood. It has been three weeks since I found out, I've been out of school for two weeks, and I am terrified that they can read my mind. What if they find out that I know? Mom, who can I talk to? Not that you or God don't count, because you guys do, but I want to talk to someone _physically_ and tell them what I know. Who can help me?_

The sound of footsteps made me look up towards the altar. Fr. Meehl was assembling a few flowerpots by the altar while humming a tune. _Priests don't judge._ I got up and began to walk towards Fr. Meehl. He turned to me when I coughed and smiled. "Victoria! It's so good to see you; how have you been?"

"I've been fine Father. I have just been trying to adjust my mind that school is over and I do not have homework waiting for me at home."

He chuckled. "Ah, you are so accustomed to having all of your assignments done on time or even earlier." I laughed along with him. Once we stopped, Fr. Meehl gave me a quizzical look and asked, "Is something wrong Victoria?"

I pursed my lips and scratched my head. "Um, yeah. Not that anything is wrong with me per say, but something is going on."

He motioned for me to follow him. We went in the back of the altar and entered a room: his office. "Take a seat, dear. Tell me what's wrong."

"Father, I know something that I am not supposed to know. It has something to do with my family and some classmates from school."

"Go on."

I breathed in fresh air and continued, but with a different approach. "Father, do you believe in werewolves? Vampires? Or do you think that there is a possibility that they could exist?"

"Victoria, such things cannot exist. The Bible even tells us that they are things from the devil; never believe in anything from the devil."

"Yes Father that I understand. But, without the Bible, do you think it is possible?"

His eyes read sympathy. "The possibilities are endless in this day and age. Anything is possible," then his expression changed to confusion, "Victoria, what do you know?"

I nodded in understanding; he wanted to get to the point. "Father, politics and religion are separate, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"So, you are not a part or do not know anything about what our tribe council does, correct?"

"Yes? Victoria, what are you trying to get at? Is something trying to harm you?"

I waved off his assumptions. "No, no, Father. But I know something about our tribe council. A secret that they have kept for many, many years from us."

Fr. Meehl looked apprehensive. "What is it Victoria?"

"Father, I think that they exist."

"What exists Victoria?"

"All those myths, all of those legends. They are real Fath-" a deep cough interrupted me. Fr. Meehl and I looked quickly at his door.

Standing there with a smile on his face was Embry Call.

I felt the hairs of the back of my neck stand up. Fr. Meehl smiled and said, "Ah Embry! So good to see you!" Father got up and let him in. I took that as my cue to leave. "You know what Father, I think I will go now. My, uhm, dad needs me back home."

"Are you sure? We can continue as soon as Embry finishes his confession."

I gave him a tight smile. "It's okay, Father. I'll be fine."

"Alright dear. May God watch over you."

"Thank you, you too."

As I was walking away, I looked back at Embry and saw that his eyes were clouded with doubt at what I had just said. As if he did not believe that I would be fine. And he's right. I don't think I will be alright for the wolf pack knows that I know now. I know for a fact that Embry listened to everything we were saying. He knows that I know and will tell everyone.

_Mom? What did I just do?_

* * *

The popcorn tasted like cardboard and the soda I have been drinking for the past fifteen minutes wasn't even my favorite flavor. The house was dark with the exception of the living room since the light form the television brightened the place. I was at my house alone for the first time since Uncle Tunde got sick. After my run in with Embry, I called Uncle Tunde telling him that I would not be visiting tonight because I didn't feel well.

He didn't sound convinced by my alibi, but he didn't question it either.

I tried to ease my mind after my 'encounter' with Embry. _Actually, it was more of a staring contest, which he of course won since I fled like my butt was on fire._

"_And we're back with Michael's hits._

_It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark"_

I rolled my eyes as the song, Thriller, was being played.

"Tori! Are you here?"

"Yeah! In the living room!"

He turned on all the lights in the house and asked, "Why are the lights out?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know. I wanted them off."

He cupped my face in order to look in my eyes. "Dad?" I asked, confused with his actions. He squinted his eyes and then abruptly opened them claiming that he found out what my problem was. "Papa, what are you talking about?" He sighed, mumbling under his breath why I was trying to hide something from him. "Papa, seriously, what are you talking about?"

"Why haven't you told me you were seeing someone?"

I choked on the popcorn and drank some of my soda to get rid of the weird sensation down my throat. "Who in the world told you I was dating?"

"Honey, before you deny it, I just want to let you know that I am okay with it. It's fine. In fact, I knew you were dating from the very beginning."

I didn't reply. I was in shock. Why, in all that is holy, does my father think that I am seeing someone? "I knew you were dating because you began to act strange," he continued, "I noticed this change about a month ago. However, my suspicions were confirmed today, this afternoon."

I stood up on the couch in order to look taller and make my father see that what I was about to say should be taken seriously. "Dad, I am not dating anyone. Understood?"

He shook his head. "Honey, stop trying to hide it. Embry told me everything."

I felt as if my heart had stopped.

"Daddy. I am not seeing Embry."

My father sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and said, "Honey, there's something I need to tell you. I've hidden it for far too long and you need to know the truth. You know those Quileute legends? They are real honey."

How had this happened? What is going on? However, my father continued. "I was a shape shifter. I would turn into a wolf to protect us from the cold ones. Embry and the kids he's with? They are all wolves too and it seems like Embry had imprinted on you."

This could not be happening.


End file.
